A bid for millions of pounds to get 15 electric buses on the streets of Norwich has been lodged.
First Buses and Norfolk County Council are keen to secure a share of the Department for Transport's £50m Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) fund.
The county council had lodged an expression of interest for a slice of the cash, which would cover almost half the £6.9m cost of replacing 15 of First's single decker buses with electric single decker vehicles.
The government has accepted that expression of interest and the council has now submitted a business case for the cash.
The council hopes the Department for Transport will stump up £3.3m, with First prepared to spend £3.6m if the government releases that cash.
The routes which the buses would be used on should the bid succeed have yet to be made public, but they would all pass through Norwich city centre.
The council said that each year it would reduce 600 tonnes of carbon emissions and 9.2 tonnes of local air quality emissions of nitrous oxide and particulate matter.
Martin Wilby, Norfolk County Council's cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: “This business case is not only an application for funding to bring electric buses to Norfolk but an important part of our commitment to improve air quality in the Greater Norwich area.
“We are already putting in place significant improvements to sustainable transport through our Transforming Cities programme.
"This would be boosted further if we can remove diesel buses from the most polluted areas to reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 600 tonnes a year.
“We know that it will take shared responsibility and a joint effort to make significant changes so we’re delighted to have worked closely with First Buses on these proposals.
"We feel that our joint application makes a very strong case for the funding we need to deliver on these ambitions and benefit the future welfare of our city and its residents.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here